J's: Disappointing Meal at Restaurant Week 2014

Despite the 88% good reviews that J's garnered, my dining partner and I felt that our restaurant week meal was extremely disappointing. 

To be fair, the food was alright - not bad, but not good either. I had the popper and meatball (which was probably the best dish of the three courses) while my dining partner had the mango and avocado salad.

 Mango and Avocado Salad

Popper and Meatball

Next, for the main course, both of us ordered the sirloin of beef. Although I had ordered the steak to be medium rare, the sirloin was not tender nor juicy enough. In addition, both my partner and I felt that the beef was not piping hot but was only a little warm - evidence of the beef being microwaved, perhaps? Lastly, for dessert, my dining partner had the churros while I had the ice cream. The churros was chock full of cream and was flat and one-dimensional. While the chocolate ice cream was good, the lemongrass ice cream lacked nuance and was overly creamy.

Sirloin of Beef

Ice Cream

Churros

Perhaps, what was the most disappointing was the service. The service staff were not even aware of the dishes ordered by individual tables and mixed up our orders at least twice. In addition, they were not aware of whom had been served. After my appetizer had been cleared, one of the waitresses proceeded to serve me with the appetizer again, indicating a serious communication breakdown. Lastly, hospitality could have been warmer, and the service staff evidently could not cope with the crowd as they were slow in their delivery (we had to ask the waitresses thrice for our tea and twice for our bill).

All in all, J's was a terrible disappointment. The food is alright but lacks nuance and service is poor. I would strongly advise diners who would like to give J's a visit to think again.